Can’t afford real marble? That’s okay, now you can make it look like marble for a fraction of the cost! It is easier than it may sound.
You will begin by using plastic wrap. You will create a ball with the wrap and begin pouncing the paint on to your surface. You are basically using the same technique as you would with a sponge, but are using the plastic wrap instead. You will get a different pattern than you would using a sponge.
For the next steps you might want to mix a glaze in your paint or a medium allowing you to move the paint around, and avoiding it drying out quickly. Randomly place your two to three colors on your surface. It helps if your background is a darker color like black, and you are adding lighter colors like gray and white. You could also do the reverse and start with a lighter background while adding darker colors at this same point.
You will now place a piece of the plastic wrap on top of your painted piece. The plastic should be a little larger than the surface you are painting. You will need a little extra because, you will be crumpling up the plastic and pushing it in to the wet paint, to achieve the look you are going for.
You will allow the plastic to sit on the surface for a few minutes while the paint is starting to set. You will want to make sure you pull the plastic off before it dries. When you are ready to pull the plastic off, start at one corner, pulling it up and off of the piece. Be careful note to smear the paint.
The end result should be a blend of the colors you placed on the surface. The look should be more of a soft muted look and not a bold contrast. It if is not, you could add more extender and maybe even some of the base color to soften it, and repeat the process.
I would recommend experimenting with this technique either on a practice board from the hardware store, or a piece of scrap wood. Once you are comfortable, then move on to your project.
Remember, it is just paint. If you do not like it, all you have to do is paint over it. It really is just that easy!!
Arthur Morehead said
Yes practicing this technique is best and you will get better with each time you do this, I have a couple of instructional dvd’s explaining and using color value to create realism with only on color. http://art-faux.com/category/faux-reviews/page/2/
aressa said
Thanks for the info!
Amy
Arthur said
Understanding color value( the light and darkness of a color which creates contrast) is an important aspect when applying any decorative finish so keeping the values close together using this technique will also help.
The furthe the values are apart the more contrats and busier the look , the closer the values are the more subtle and less contrasting it will appear…..